WEST GOSHEN – Unbeaten through five games and ranked 17th nationally, everybody just assumes that the West Chester football squad has made huge strides from a year ago. And the 2013 Golden Rams could very well end up trumping the 2012 version, which went 7-4 and finished third in the PSAC East.

But in an attempt to get his team ready for today’s homecoming clash with division rival East Stroudsburg (2 p.m., WCHE 1510 AM), WCU head coach Bill Zwaan reminded his guys that with a lone exception – a season opening win over Division II New Haven, which replaced a loss to NCAA Division I FCS Delaware -- not much has actually changed from one year to the next.

“I told the kids, ‘we are 5-0, but the difference between us this year and last is that we played New Haven instead of Delaware,’” Zwaan recalled. “Last year heading into week six, we were 4-1 and coming off a big win against California (Pa.) and going up to East Stroudsburg.

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“Well, we didn’t play well at all in that game. I’m hoping that’s going to be at the forefront in their minds -- that we need to play well against these guys.”

There’s nothing like a little perspective to bring a team back down to reality.

It’s all true, however. Just like a year ago, West Chester has wins over Gannon, Millersville, Kutztown and Cal. To begin to truly separate themselves from last season, the Rams (2-0, 5-0) can start by beating the Warriors (1-1, 4-1), who staged a 35-28 upset in ’12 that was the first of three setbacks in the final six weeks of the season for WCU. It was also, in many ways, the most painful loss of the campaign as ESU scored the winning touchdown with five seconds remaining.

“You always have it in the back of your mind that we shouldn’t have lost that game, but we try not to let that affect how we are going to do things this time around,” said senior safety Shawn Krautzel.

Always a handful for any defense, East Stroudsburg’s aerial attack is going to put pressure on an inexperienced secondary that is still trying to find its way, and will likely be without starting cornerback Blaise Schieler, who suffered a concussion last weekend. If he can’t go, look for fellow redshirt freshman Nasheed Parker to get the start.

“The reality is we played real good defense against (Cal) accept for a couple big plays. If we start to negate a few of those a game, we’ll be in good shape,” Zwaan said.

“Everyone is getting better every week and that’s all you can really ask for,” Krautzel added. “Other than four or five big plays, we played really well against Cal. We have to limit those. Obviously teams are going to have a few here and there so it’s just bouncing back, having a short memory and doing your job.”

Twelve months ago, ESU rolled up 508 yards of offense, with quarterback Matt Soltes completing 30 of 37 for 366 yards and three touchdowns. So far this season Soltes is among the PSAC’s most efficient signalcallers, and he has an elite runner (Robert Healy) and an elite receiver (Robert Bleiler) at his disposal. Healy is fourth in the conference, averaging 112 rushing yards per game, and Bleiler is among the top three in catches (33).

“This is Bloomsburg, Shippensburg or Cal for us,” Zwaan said. “(ESU is) on that level and we have to play at that level to win.

“Their quarterback is real good, they have a solid running back, a good core of receivers, and their scheme is good. You put all of that together and there is no expectation that we are going to shut these guys down. But we will try to keep them under wraps.”

And this is not just a challenge for the West Chester defense. Rondell White, Sean McCartney and the rest of West Chester’s potent offense needs to keep up while the defense is holding up. That could wind up being more difficult because the Warriors are, statistically, much improved defensively. They rank third in the 16-team conference in total defense (317.6 yards per game), one slot ahead of the Rams.

“This is what our league is right now,” Zwaan explained. “Teams can be good on offense by recruiting the right kids and running the right systems. There is no way to stop these teams but you have to try to corral them and make them take a long time to score and hopefully you can force them into some bad plays in those longer drives.

“Defensively, we are going to try to make them work for everything they get. Offensively, we need to be efficient and smart with the football. We have to not only score but not turn it over and give them good field position.”

NOTES: A large crowd is expected and fans travelling to the game are encouraged to arrive early and expect delays. Car-pooling is also very strongly encouraged. Parking in surrounding lots will open at 10:30 a.m. while ticket booths will open at Noon. Fans are also strongly encouraged to purchase their tickets ahead of time by calling the WCU Ticket Office at (610) 436-2266. Tickets purchased over the phone will be left at the Will Call Window … The WCU receiving corps may be shorthanded due to injuries to wideout Tim Keyser (concussion) and backup tight end Tim Brown (ribs). Both are listed as doubtful for ESU … West Chester players continue to rack up ECAC Division II player of the week honors. Running back Brandon Monk was tabbed as special team’s player of the week while linebacker Ronell Williams brought home defensive accolades for a second straight week.